Friday
Mar092007
Where have all the theologians gone?
Friday, March 9, 2007 at 6:29AM
LT writes:
I think one of the biggest things ailing the western evangelical church is poor theology, particularly in the areas of salvation and transformation. Our understanding of what it means to follow Christ has been skewed through sales pitch conversions. Over the last couple hundred year's evangelists have made it progressively easier for people to respond to their pitch without thinking through what they are really getting in to. They have reduced discipleship to eternal fire insurance. Without a proper understanding of what it means to follow Christ people remain untransformed and thoroughly fixated on their own "spiritual needs".more
Reader Comments (7)
Which is probably why so many "get saved" every Sunday. I believe they are merely Sin conscious, not Christ conscious.
Went and read LT's complete post. Excellent. And sad. It's why my husband and I sat puzzling -- and aching -- a few years back, wondering if our only hope for meaningful fellowship and engagement with other believers was to be found in the halls of higher institutions. And we're no intellectual breed; just regenerated believers who happen to know that His stuff is worth exceeding more than what the average believer gives it, and that we need vital involvement with one another's minds if the truth is going to continue to flourish in our lives. I think I'm going to start a grassroots movement for ordinary people who love truth, God, and His church too much to see this bleak recipe continue. Isolated -- we can't do much. Together -- who knows what His Spirit might unleash? Look for www.theCHRISTway.com, coming in the summer of 2007
Arthur: I wonder if they're even sin-conscious? If they were, that would drive them to Christ. Perhaps it's more like a nagging emptiness that occurs in them, and then, we welcome them into the social arena of our churches, and help them to never discover the depths of their sin, nor the heights of His grace. No wonder we have no power. Trust you're praying for encounter with the Real Christ for His people then, even as we pray and seek this for ourselves day by day too.
Naomi, I remember back to "the days of my youth." For five or six years I attended a small church, probably thirty or so people, the same people every Sunday. And every Sunday night we would hear a "Salvation Message" even though I am pretty sure most of the congregation were already "saved." And every Sunday I would be convicted of my own sinful nature and respond to the invitation. The sad thing is, NOBODY took the time to explain to me, or anyone else, that it wasn't neccesary to do so. Nobody explained the implications of Living FOR Christ, or the real meaning of Repentance and Holiness etcetra and so on. I was concious of my sin, but not at all aware of the full meaning of the Gospel message, and thus was "saved" every Sunday. Sad commentary, and even sadder that it still occurs far too often in far too many churches today. If you have followed Darryl's Blog for any length of time, you may already know that I have definite issues with what I call "organized churchianity."
So find a good church Arthur, where you can be encouraged and grow and worship and work for Christ. There really still are some out there.
Within a thousand miles of where I live, George?
Hey Arthur -- just catching your response here, weeks after (sorry i'm not an rss feed person. Hoping you might be. Don't know if the feed is linked to new entries though...) I hear what you're saying, and lament, along with you, the fact that the real wealth and treasures inherant in our salvation are so (desperately) under-explored and under-understood. I agree--and have witnessed--this is a chronic problem in most of our churches. I've maintained that in other countries and lands where life is implicitly 'simpler', and distractions and information amounts no where near what we north americans are constantly bombarded with, the simple word of God, and simple faith can work mighty heights and depths of transformation. But over here, if we're not taking the time to educate our people with what salvation, repentance, holiness, faith, justification, etc mean, at a depth level ALONG WITH stoking close enough caring relationships togther so that we're honestly engaging over the raw material of life in relation to these incredible truths, we're pretty much consigning one another to ongoing inferior christianity (cause there's such a plethora of mis-information and off-the-target information, that we've all, like you, bought into without knowing any better.) Soo -- if God's been teaching you the real meaning of repentance, holiness etc. you must have some great things to share with the body! Things that misguided churchianity is in great need of! Why don't you try showing up at some church somewhere, and simply modelling what God's worked into you... The truth is powerful! (and, in awful short supply). Blessings! -- Nj